Gold-standard maternal mortality database in limbo as CDC staff placed on leave
As part of the sweeping layoffs that rocked HHS, the entire staff that oversaw an annual survey to better understand infant and maternal health was placed on administrative leave.
As part of the sweeping layoffs that rocked the Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday, the entire staff that oversaw an annual survey to better understand infant and maternal health — and that was considered the gold standard in the field — was placed on administrative leave.
The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, or PRAMS, is a dataset of survey responses from people who give birth, both before and after birth. The dataset has offered some of the most detailed insights into maternal health in the U.S., and has become an invaluable asset to researchers trying to better understand the country’s disproportionately high maternal mortality rates.
